FIX: You cannot import or paste some group policies across domains by using the "Group Policy Management" MMC snap-in

Consider the following scenario:

• You use the Group Policy Management MMC snap-in to define and configure some policies in a domain.
• You do either of the following:
  • You export some group policies, and then you import them into the current domain or into a new one.
  • You copy some group policies, and then you paste them into the current domain or into a new one.

In this scenario, the importing or the pasting action reports a "successful" result. However, some random group policies are missing after the importing or pasting action is finished.

For example, you define a wired network access policy in a domain, and then you export it. You then import the policy into a new domain. After the importing process finishes, the defined wired network access policy is missing in the new domain. The same problem happens when you backup and import a group policy with a 3rd party extension that stores its settings in Active Directory in the tree of the group policy object.

This issue occurs because the dSCorePropagationData�attribute is exported unnecessarily when the Group Policy Management MMC snap-in exports certain group policies for a backup, or copies certain group policies. This is only done for group policy extensions that don't have specific�export instructions within GPMC. This applies to the wireless and wired network access policies and all 3rd party group policy extensions.

The dSCorePropagationData attribute is an internally used attribute. Therefore, the attribute cannot be imported or pasted, and the importing or pasting action fails.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running one of the following operating systems on the computer:

• Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2008 SP2
• Windows 7
• Windows Server 2008 R2

Notes

• For Windows Server 2008 systems and for Windows Server 2008 R2 systems, the "Group Policy Management" feature must be installed.
• For Windows Vista systems and for Windows 7 systems, the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) must be installed.

For more information about how to obtain a Windows Vista service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to obtain a Windows Server 2008 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer if GPMC is running when you install the hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English (United States) version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 file information notes

Important Windows Vista hotfixes and Windows Server 2008 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, only "Windows Vista" is listed on the Hotfix Request page. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows Vista" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

• The files that apply to a specific product, SR_Level (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table.

  Version	Product	SR_Level	Service branch
  6.0.600 0 . 20xxx	Windows Vista	RTM	LDR
  6.0.600 1 . 22xxx	Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008	SP1	LDR
  6.0.600 2 . 22xxx	Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008	SP2	LDR

• Service Pack 1 is integrated into the release version of Windows Server 2008. Therefore, RTM milestone files apply only to Windows Vista. RTM milestone files have a 6.0.0000.xxxxx version number.
• The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 and for Windows Vista" section. MUM files and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008 and of Windows Vista

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 and of Windows Vista

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 file information notes

Important Windows 7 hotfixes and Windows Server 2008 R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, hotfixes on the Hotfix Request page are listed under both operating systems. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

• The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 R2 and for Windows 7" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

If this problem occurs when you import a Group Policy, you can work around the problem by manually deleting the dSCorePropagationData attribute information from the Group Policy backup.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Backup.xml file in your favorite XML editor.
   Note The Backup.xml file is in the folder where the Group Policy backup files reside.
2. Identify the XML element that has the dSCorePropagationData attribute by searching for the following string:
   dSCorePropagationData
   Note The XML element starts with the DSAttributeMultiString tag and ends with the /DSAttributeMultiString tag. Additionally, the dSCorePropagationData attribute can contain up to 5 values and each value is enclosed in the DSValue tag.
   
   The following is an example of an XML element that has the dSCorePropagationData attribute:
   <DSAttributeMultiString bkp:DSAttrName="dSCorePropagationData"><DSValue><![CDATA[16010101000000.0Z]]></DSValue></DSAttributeMultiString>
   In this example, the dSCorePropagationData attribute contains 1 value that is enclosed in the DSValue tag.
3. Delete this XML element.
4. Repeat step 2 through step 3 until all the occurrences of this XML element are removed.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Additional file information

Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 and for Windows Vista

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Additional files for all supported Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2008

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Additional file information for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

Additional files for all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

For more information about the DS-Core-Propagation-Data attribute, visit the following Microsoft Web site: